In a ruling from last July 19th (CE July 19th, 2010, n°328687, Association of the district of Choiseul against Orange France and the municipality of Amboise), the French State Council asserts with strength the application of the precautionary principle to public and administrative authorities. This ruling takes on an innovative character with regard to previous case law (in particular ruling Bouygues Telecom CE, April 20th, 2005, n°248233) according to which the principle of independence of legislations was hindering the invocation, without any additional text, to an environment law principle against an authorization or against a decision solely governed by the planning laws. This new position of the State Council is justified by the fact that the precautionary principle was constitutionalized since then by the constitutional law n°2005-205 of March 1st, 2005 relative to the charter of the environment. The French State Council already had the opportunity to make application of the same solution for works in the motorway sector (CE March 17th, 2010, Alsace Nature, n° 314114; CE April 16th, 2010, Association Alcaly, n°320667).

For all that and as is scientific knowledge, considering the absence of health risk to live near an antenna and in the line of its past case law, the French State Council confirms that by delivering its authorization of town planning to Orange France allowing the installation of a mobile telephony pylon, the mayor took well account of the constitutional measures relative to the precautionary principle.

Consequently, the French State Council rejects the request of the local residents’ association which wanted the cancellation of the authorization to build, and condemns it to pay the municipality and the operator €500 in conformance with the exposed expenses.